La Swap sixth-former Rina Diamond stars in Eastenders

A SIXTH-former who has been cast in EastEnders says she wants to use the drama to tell the stories of the struggles young people face.

La Swap student Rina Diamond, 17, played a homeless girl called Brianna in the BBC soap last month as part of storyline about a boy caught up in knife crime.

“It’s happened to people that live next to me and some others have been in prison,” she told the New Journal. “I live in an area where this happens around me. I always try and find that similarity with characters I play, then I can connect the emotion better and can connect to the struggle.”

Rina grew up on the St Silas Estate in Kentish Town, where she has lived since she was three years old. Her parents moved to the UK from Kosovo in 1989. A rising acting star, she appeared in the New Journal three years ago when she was the lead in Haverstock School’s production of Footloose.

She has also acted at the Camden People’s Theatre but said she has always wanted to do TV.

Appearing in the CNJ in 2014, Rina stars in Footloose at Haverstock School

She trains at RAaW London, who helped her get an agent three months ago. “RAaW has helped me so much,” said Rina. “I’ve learned if you want to achieve something you’re going to have to fight for it. When I was younger me and my mum watched EastEnders a lot, so I said to my mum, ‘this is like a dream come true’.”